Fasting and Mental Clarity

newbies
food
(Nick) #1

Hello Ketogenic Forum goers,
First of all, I Love the 2KetoDudes podcast. Thank you all for this great resource.

This is my first time on the forums, and I wanted some extended fasting advice. I am new to Keto (2 months in), but I am loving how it makes me feel. While I do miss sweets some times, I absolutely would not trade how great I feel now to have them back. I have done I.F. for my first few weeks, but wanted to try an more extended fast to see what it felt like.

I mainly got on the Keto diet for mental clarity, as I did not have a large amount of weight to lose, but I am in the process of teaching myself how to program in C# (I also follow the .Net Rocks podcast, so thanks for that one too Karl :slight_smile: ). and want to have every edge I can in my studies.

My question is, do any of you find extended fasting improves mental clarity? or decreases it?
How does extended fasting effect your normal day to day energy levels. Will it effect my daily workouts ?
Finally, Do you all have a particular meal you eat before / or after the fasting period?

Thank you in advance KCKO

#2

Hi Nick,

I’m currently on hour 165 (almost 7 full days) of a fast, and my n=1 shows very improved mental clarity and energy levels.Today I am extremely energized!

2 days ago I got up at 3am and drove 4 hours for some meetings before driving home and getting into bed at 12:30am. I then had to get up for work at 5am. Normally I would feel very tired after something like this and it would take me a day or so to get over it. Not this time.

I also went to the gym last night and felt like I had a bit more energy than normal.
Again it’s all anecdotal…

Do I have a particular meal before? No, because sometimes I don’t really plan a fast and I can just spontaneously decide to start.

Afterwards for my first meal I tend to just eat a small amount of cheese, eggs and steak (with lot of butter or coconut oil - but not chicken because it seems to make me hungrier). I also avoid macadamias initially because they are one of my trigger foods :slight_smile:

#3

I’m on day 7 of an extended fast and I am doing fantastic.

  • mental clarity and balance
  • significant energy
  • good mood and optimistic

And the benefit of weight loss.

I’m planning to continue the fast for another 7 days.

The most important thing is water with added salt, your body needs 5g a day.

#4

I wonder if it because it is GRAIN fed and a high carb meat?
So many foods have hidden carbs through the rearing process.

KC&KO :bacon::bacon::bacon:

#5

today is day 8 for me, planning on 14 days.

As I plan to exit my fast I’m introducing small amounts of varied ingredients to help kick start the digestive track as a way to countermeasure shock and potential constipation. None of the food is more then 200 calories so no big deal.

#6

Chicken (regardless of what it’s fed) is a “high carb meat?” Please explain?

(Nick) #7

That is good to know, and makes sense based on other things I’ve read on your body and fasting. Do you find a greater state of clarity during fast as compared to your normal Keto eating?

Thanks again for your responses.